First Rule of Freedom

Greetings fellow citizens of Earth. Or should I say "inhabitants"? Perhaps the time has not yet come when we can claim citizenship of the entire world on which we live. Instead, we are required to pledge allegiance only to a single smallish geographic region.

Back when I had been on this Earth but a few short years, I thought otherwise. I claimed the whole world as my home. I had not yet learned about the imaginary lines we have drawn and erased and redrawn again and again. Make believe lines that designate ownership and nationality. Lines that exact a long list of requirements from those who pretend such boundaries actually exist.

Apparently we need these lines of demarcation to protect us and our ideals from harm or contamination. When other persons choose to step across the imaginary lines that define our smallish geographic region, we can label them as "immigrants" and demand the same long list of requirements of them too, not the least of which is believing in the existence of our imaginary boundaries!

Am I implying that borders and property lines are necessarily a bad thing? Certainly not. We must always keep in mind, however, that all boundaries are really just imaginary containers. The only part that really matters is the contents. The same bowl can just as easily overflow with sweet honey as it can the vilest of rotten eggs.

So let me start over . . . .

Greetings fellow citizens of these United States of America. If you are like most of us, you feel a deep since of pride when you behold our gallant flag dancing in the breeze atop a shining white pole in the brilliant noon day sun. What at a glorious picture this makes, painted on an infinite canvas of blue sky that fades into the distant heavens!

Why shouldn't we be proud? Aren't we the guiding light of freedom and democracy in the world? Isn't America the richest, most powerful, most productive nation on Earth? Three cheers for our wise Founding Fathers and their vision of establishing a nation with liberty and justice for all!

But there's more to their "vision" that first meets the eye. A clue can be found in the Pledge of Allegiance all us Americans have diligently recited since our childhood: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the republic for which it stands; one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all . . .

This pledge, not written until 1892, is a perfect example of how blind we can be even to the most fundamental aspects of our government. The facts are plain to see for anyone who follows the first and absolutely most important rule of freedom: Believe Nothing, Question Everything.

This is also the most important rule of survival, but we will discuss that another time. For now, let's take a closer look at what we find when we apply the "rule" to the birth of our own government.

If you believe the Founding Fathers wished to establish a democracy in the land of the free and the home of the brave, you are wrong. A democracy was the last thing they wanted. Why? Because they knew that a democracy can only work if all participants are equally intelligent and equally informed; and most important of all, equally motivated.

Look around you. People were the same then as they are now. You can bet the Founding Fathers looked and they liked what they saw. A bunch of people who on their best days are the intellectual equivalent of sheep. To busy grazing to bother with much else.

If you think we have a democracy here in America, you obviously spend all of your time in search of greener pastures instead of believing nothing without first questioning its validity. I know you were told we have a democratic form of government in school, but that's my point, isn't it? We all were. They still teach the same malarkey to this day.

It's the oldest lie in the book and was actually started by the Founding Fathers themselves! Otherwise, we the people would have realized our "revolution" was all about taking ultimate power away from the King and handing it over to those we freely chose to rule with the exact same ultimate power!

Is this really any better?

A true democratic system of government is based on the principle of majority decision making. This means that the government is controlled by the people and each person has the free and equal right to participate in all decision-making processes. If the entire populace agrees that elected representatives are needed, then they are elected "of the people by the people".

When was the last time you voted on the floor of the Senate? Did George call you up and ask for your council before invading Iraq? Did he have your permission? Do you really, as an individual person, have any say in anything the "government" does?

Didn't think so. And that's because this ain't no democracy here in Murka!

What the Founding Fathers wanted was absolute power over the masses. They knew that people, being the sheep they are, must be led. Giving sheep a say in things would mean bogging down the government in a sewer of minutiae! Nothing important would ever get done.

And the most important thing of all to do was plundering the New World via the miracle of free enterprise! For this, the Founding Fathers needed nothing less than a republic!

But ain't that the same thing as a democracy?

Of course it isn't, as anyone who practices the first rule of freedom knows. Remember, "Believe Nothing; Question Everything." Don't accept anything just because you hear on TV or read it in books and newspapers. Go out and find the truth for yourself.

The main thing a democracy and a republic have in common is they are both political systems or forms of government. But in a republic, people elect representatives who exercise the absolute power each individual person would normally have in a true democracy.

Look at this like this: You own a boat. You can use the boat any time you like and you can do anything you like with the boat so long as all other boat owners agree that you and they shall have these same rights and powers. That's a democracy.

In a republic you still own a boat. You just never get to use it. Instead, you elect someone else and give them all rights to the boat. You pay all expenses and even pay the person you elect a salary. A pretty good deal for everyone but you!

In a republic, the supreme power is in the hands of representatives elected by the people. But even this wasn't good enough for the Founding Fathers. That's why they gave the right to vote only to a small group of people they considered to be equals and to have a collective interests and objectives.

Over the years more and more groups have won the "right to vote". For example, women were not allowed to vote until 1920, and only won the right after a long, bitter and painful struggle. That's the way it is in a republic.

Is there a better form of government? In truth, so long as we believe in the need for imaginary lines, we will also have need of governing. One form is probably just as good as another. It's like comparing the sweetest honey with the vilest rotten eggs. It's just way more than us sheep can fathom.